The Worst-Case Scenario

During the Warring States period, what was the most important resource for a clan? It was not territory, food, or ninjutsu; it was children.

Only with children did a clan have a future, and only then could they speak of one; otherwise, everything else was just nonsense. It was for this reason that, despite the cruel pressures of the era forcing them to send children who had just begun to grow onto the battlefield, they strictly controlled the age to ten or older, with very few exceptions.

Shin's expression turned incomparably gloomy. If the Hyuga Clan's plan succeeded, the next generation of the Uchiha would suffer heavy casualties. In a dozen years or so, there would be a gap in the ranks, potentially shaking the very foundation of the clan.

"How many people will come?" Shin asked.

"I don't know, but although your Uchiha Clan suffered a defeat on the right flank, you still retain half your strength. Sending too many people would raise alarms, and the clan can't spare many experts right now. I estimate it will be one Jonin, two Special Jonin, and about ten Chunin—a precision squad like that."

Shin stroked his chin, carefully calculating the strength, and acknowledged his assessment: "One last question, how did you hide your Byakugan? I recall that the Byakugan cannot change into normal eyes like the Sharingan."

The ninja replied: "It is a secret medicine developed by our clan that can conceal all traces of the Byakugan. It is only effective on the Byakugan; it is useless to you."

"Oh!" Shin sighed in disappointment. He had hoped it was some sort of special secret technique.

"Forget it. In exchange for your honesty, I'll give you a quick death."

"Wait..."

The ninja's face was filled with terror, not expecting Shin to be so decisive. Just as he wanted to say something more, a Kunai slashed across his throat. His vision went black, and he could no longer speak.

Ding!

"Killed a Hyuga Clan Chunin. Reward: 1000 points."

"Huh?"

The sudden sound of the system made Shin freeze. For the past two years, he had almost forgotten about this Behind-the-Scenes Boss System.

"So, killing ninjas from other clans also grants points! Then what have I been doing for the past two years, training like a fool in the clan?"

Shin gave a bitter laugh, cursed the pit-digging system, and turned to sprint toward the clan grounds. Now was not the time to dwell on the system. Knowing that killing enemy ninjas could earn points, he would have plenty of opportunities in the future. He only hoped the Third Elder hadn't left yet.

On the way back, he opened the long-neglected system and began browsing the ninjutsu available for exchange.

In the Behind-the-Scenes Boss System, the cost of ninjutsu naturally varied according to their rank.

For example, S-rank ninjutsu required 10,000 points, A-rank required 5,000, B-rank required 1,000, C-rank required 500, and D-rank required 100.

Shin looked at his 1,000 points and pondered. He could exchange for one B-rank ninjutsu or two C-rank ones. He had to choose carefully; if the Third Elder had already left, tonight would be extremely dangerous.

"The B-rank ninjutsu I currently know are Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet and Fire Style: Fire Flame Slash. Both are offensive. Given my age and limited chakra, learning another B-rank won't increase my strength much. It would be better to learn two C-rank ninjutsu for survival."

Thinking of this, Shin suddenly recalled a specific technique and quickly scrolled to the C-rank section. Unfortunately, there were too many C-rank techniques to find what he wanted, so he asked directly in his mind: "Hey, system, can I exchange for the Crow Clone technique?"

"Crow Clone, Rank C. Exchange requires 500 points. Do you wish to exchange?" The system's calm voice echoed in Shin's mind.

Shin felt a sense of relief and immediately thought: "Exchange. Exchange immediately."

This so-called Crow Clone was a technique created by Uchiha Itachi in the original work. It was a combination of genjutsu and clone technique, known for being stylish, cool, elegant, and excellent for survival. Shin had coveted it ever since he watched Naruto.

He had been worried that since this was the Warring States period and Uchiha Itachi hadn't been born yet, the technique might not be available. Now it seemed the system had some real substance if it could provide techniques that would only appear in the future.

A warm current flowed into Uchiha Shin's body. In an instant, he had mastered the technique, and his points decreased by 500.

He used the remaining 500 points to exchange for a genjutsu called Demonic Illusion: Fox Mind Technique.

After returning to the clan, Shin rushed straight to the meeting hall. Seeing that the Third Elder was not there, his heart sank.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, he rushed into the room of Uchiha Madara. Upon seeing him, he asked directly: "Where is the Third Elder?"

Uchiha Madara looked at him strangely and said: "The Third Elder took the guardian ninjas to support the battlefield. Weren't you there when the Third Elder made that decision?"

Shin's heart plummeted. Holding onto a faint hope, he asked: "How long ago did the Third Elder leave?" It had taken him two hours to catch up to that Hyuga Chunin, one hour to subdue and interrogate him, and two hours to rush back—a total of five hours. He only hoped the Third Elder hadn't gone too far.

"He left three hours ago. Did something happen?" Uchiha Madara was worthy of being a future legend of the ninja world; he keenly sensed something wrong in Shin's tone.

Shin sighed helplessly. Three hours—at a ninja's speed, it would be very difficult to catch up. He sat down in disappointment and recounted the intelligence he had gathered to Madara.